Archives for Disaster Relief

More than 1,500 Lady Health Workers who work in areas in the areas of Punjab and Sindh provinces in Pakistan will receive kits of basic equipment to help them as they offer vital health care services to families in their communities. This donation is part of the United States’ continuing support for Pakistan’s flood relief and recovery efforts.

The kits were donated by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to Pakistan’s National Program for Family Planning and Primary Health Care. Kits include blood pressure monitors, scales, thermometers, blankets, tents, and basic furniture. This equipment will enable Lady Health Workers to set up health houses to provide basic services in flood-affected communities.

Josette Colin discusses how her earthquake-damaged home was made habitable again by USAID/OFDA-funded Pan American Development Foundation teams in the Simmond-Pele neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Dec. 16, 2010. Photo is from Kendra Helmer/USAID.

The wildfires that ravaged large areas of Mount Carmel forest, killing 41 people and damaging hundreds of homes in the Northern Israel in early December, were halted with the help of local and international emergency teams. The intensive coordination efforts of USAID West Bank and Gaza with the Government of Israel enabled the rapid mobilization of U.S. Government assistance to combat the forest fires.

Through communications with the Israeli Government, USAID West Bank and Gaza identified the emergency needs and immediately mobilized the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) which arrived to Haifa, Israel, on December 5, to work alongside the Israeli firefighters and offer technical expertise. The United States also flew nearly 70 metric tons (MT) of fire suppressant and 3,800 gallons of fire retardant concentrate to Israel.

In addition to assistance from the U.S. and Europe, Israel received help from its Arab neighbors, Jordan and Egypt, as well as the Palestinian Authority who sent three fire engines and firefighters to suppress the fires together with their Israeli counterparts. Responding to this conciliatory gesture, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his appreciation and thanks to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Helping Israel suppress its largest forest fire ever, USAID also played a role in passing information between different parties and providing emergency advice.

The fires have subsided, but the United States is ready to provide additional assistance to support the Government of Israel if needed.

Today our faith-based office at the U.S. Agency for International Development hosted a conference call with Nancy Lindborg and Daniel Shapiro to detail the U.S. Government’s response to the Carmel Fire in Israel. Nancy Lindborg is the Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at USAID and Daniel Shapiro is Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Staff at the White House. I was honored to moderate the call and engage with the 180 plus participants we had on the line.

Highlights of the U.S. Government’s response:

A USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) of 10 people arrived in Haifa, Israel on December 5 and remains in place as the response continues.

The DART, which includes a National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) team with fire management experts from the U.S. Forest Service, is currently working alongside their Israeli counterparts at the command center at Haifa University.

The Israeli government expressed greatest need for fire suppressant and retardant. In response, the U.S. Government has delivered 111 metric tons (MT) of fire suppressant and 3,800 gallons of fire retardant concentration. This assistance was delivered via five US C-130 aircrafts.

Of the 111 MT’s, this included USAID who airlifted approximately 27 MT of Fire-Trol retardant and 22 MT of Fire-Trol fire foam with the addition of 20 MT of fire foam donated by Italy.

The Government of Israel has been leading an extraordinary effort to contain and suppress the wildfires, and – as a result of the success of that effort – several operations that were in motion to provide additional aircraft and support were not needed but remain in a “stand by” status should the situation change.

Echoing the President’s remarks from last Thursday’s Hanukkah Celebration at the White House, our deepest condolences are with everybody in Israel who is affected by this tragedy and the family and loved ones of those in harm’s way. USAID is committed to continuing to work with our partners as the Carmel region transitions from disaster response to recovery. Our faith-based office at USAID is taking the lead for the U.S. Government and is coordinating the flow of information with the NGO community as together we look towards long-term recovery and reforestation.

If you would like to make suggestions about how we can add value to conversations taking place amongst NGOs or if you’d like to receive updated information about the U.S. Government response, please send us an email at FBCI (at) usaid.gov.

Ari Alexander serves as Deputy Director at the Center for Faith-based & Community Initiatives and the Coordinator of Global Engagement at the United States Agency for International Development.

USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) arrived in Haifa, Israel on December 5. The DART, which includes a National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) team with fire management experts from the U.S. Forest Service, is currently working alongside their Israeli counterparts at the command center at Haifa University.

The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) discusses aerial firefighting support with local responders. The DART, which includes a National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) team with fire management experts from the U.S. Forest Service, is currently working alongside their Israeli counterparts at the command center at Haifa University. Photo Credit: USAID

We wanted to be get necessary fire suppression supplies to Israel as soon as possible so our logisticians immediately adjusted our purchase order based on market availability. The USAID cargo flight, carrying approximately 27 metric tons (MT) of Fire-Trol retardant and 22 MT of Fire-Trol fire foam, landed in Israel at approximately 9:45 pm local time on December 5. The USAID-charted aircraft, which originated in Italy, also transported 20 MT of Italian-donated fire foam.

In addition, a U.S. C-130 aircraft from U.S. European Command (EUCOM) delivered 3,800 gallons of fire retardant concentrate to Israel on December 5. On December 4, two U.S. C-130s from EUCOM delivered a total of 20 short tons of fire retardant to Israel.

The latest information indicates that the fires will soon be under control, and we commend the Government of Israel for leading and coordinating an extraordinary international effort to suppress the deadly wildfires. The USAID DART continues to work alongside their Israeli counterparts, and we stand prepared to provide additional assistance to support the Government of Israel if needed.

The U.S. Government, led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is immediately dispatching U.S. Department of Defense aircraft to aid in the suppression of the raging wildfires in Israel.

Three U.S. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard C-130 Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) aircraft will depart the United States for Israel this weekend to conduct fire suppression operations in support of the Government of Israel. In addition, two U.S. European Command C-130 aircraft carrying 20 tons of fire retardant will depart Ramstein Air Base in Germany to arrive over the weekend to further aid in fighting the wildfires.

These aircraft are in addition to the commercial aircraft chartered by USAID to deliver 45 tons of Fire-Troll fire retardant and 12,000 liters of WD881 Class A foam. Through its partnership with the U.S. Forest Service’s Disaster Assistance Support Program, USAID is also deploying a team of experts join with their Israeli counterparts to help combat the fires.

The United States stands prepared to provide additional assistance should it be necessary.

For more information about US assistance in the wake of the wildfires in Israel, please visit www.usaid.gov.

Nancy Lindborg is the Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance. Photo Credit: USAID

We offer our deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the fires. USAID, through its partnership with the U.S. Forest Service’s Disaster Assistance Support Program, is deploying a team of experts to join their Israeli counterparts to help combat the fires. We are also sending 45 metric tons of Fire-Trol fire retardant and 12,000 liters of WD881 Class A foam, both of which are valuable tools in the suppression of wildland fires. The United States stands prepared to provide additional assistance should it be necessary.

For individuals and organizations who would like to provide assistance, we encourage you to make a cash donation to a reputable humanitarian organization working in the affected area. Cash donations are best. Nothing will get there faster or help more at this time.

In Pakistan, we will hand over medical equipment to 1500 female health workers. These practitioners will receive a set of equipment to create makeshift health units and provide health services in flood-affected areas of Pakistan.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, we will launch The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). Under the 2008 Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act (Lantos/Hyde Act) funding for PMI was expanded to two additional countries – DRC and Nigeria becoming the 16th and 17th focus-countries.

In the Philippines, we will hold a Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. USAID will partner with the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN); a global public-private partnership that matches innovative clean energy projects with sources of financing.

At the USAID distribution site at a flood relief camp in Sindh province, a young woman queuing up with her teenaged son to receive her food donation somehow stood out in the crowd and caught my attention.

It could have been the slippers on her feet, while most others were barefoot, or perhaps the dignified way she waited in line. I approached her, and she told me her name was Murada and that Larkana, her village, had been totally wiped out by the flood. As she chattered about all the land she used to own and crops she had cultivated, much like we were two neighbors having afternoon tea, an expected rush of emotions came over me.

“I miss my rifle the most, you know,” she said matter-of-factly, my eyes widening as she explained that she was a widow, and her late husband had taught her to use the firearm.

“A Russian single barrel,” she added proudly, “to protect myself of course.” I shook my head as I contemplated that though Murda had lost her home, fifteen acres of land including ten under cultivation, and six bovines, she preferred to discuss her missing rifle.

Amazing indeed, that this woman, until recently comparatively wealthy, was now collecting a food sack marked “USAID,” and recounting a heartbreaking story in such a sprightly manner. It was only when I asked “so what about the future?” did the façade crumble, and a look of abject grief came over her face. My heart sank as I realized that despite her sunny demeanor, she was just one more victim of this terrible tragedy.

From rugged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the fields of Punjab, down to the coastal plains of Sindh, I witnessed the same horror and devastation of total loss in three weeks of monitoring visits. Beyond their possessions, some have literally lost their land – washed away by the mighty Indus River after it broached its embankments for hundreds of miles.

Over and over I heard tales of hopelessness – no agency, representative, not even a landlord who was willing to take responsibility for their welfare and survival. In such a state, they were more than eager to voice their frustration to a representative of a donor agency in the hope of finding someone who might actually help them.

Through my work with USAID, I could offer some degree of help in the form of the thousands of donated relief kits that included two weeks worth of food, cooking utensils, buckets for collecting water and soap to wash. They were eager to narrate their harrowing experience to someone working for the American government, which many called their savior.

As I opened each parcel to verify its contents before distributing the kits, I could see the appreciation in their eyes, gratitude that someone was concerned enough to ensure that they receive each and every item that was sent for them – and just lend them a sympathetic ear.

Aside from different regional languages and attire, my experience in three provinces was pretty much the same everywhere I went. Much as I tried not to cry, recurring scenes of poverty and helplessness invariably brought tears to my eyes.

Yet at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling another emotion welling up inside: hope. Women like Murada, who spoke bravely about her loss and even tried to stay well-dressed amid the squalor, seemed to me to represent the glimmer, however small, of a better future.

I was able to play a small part by promising those with whom I spoke that the American people would not abandon them in their hour of need. I was grateful the people of America provided a platform to help make a difference in the lives of so many in need. The difference hope brings.